Broken Angel
by Entropy Pixel
Summary: Pretensious rubbish. My first fanfic, so that is to be expected.
1. Chapter 1  Pristine World

**Broken Angel – Chapter 1: Pristine World**

**AN: Done out of boredom (I got bored after reading Higurashi for 2 hours). The story is an AU of CLAMP's Clover. Please tell me what you think. And please, please, please keep reading, the story does really get much better ^_^ **

When I woke up today, I was in a cold white room, where there was nothing but me, and a window. I left again, I decided. I am wearing my own baggy white T-shirt and underwear, not the blue cotton nightgown, I'm free, I decided. Window. It's closed. But I can hear all their voices. Her song, that endless melody, I can always hear it. Over and over and over again, I love that song. I'm free, I'll find her, I must find Ora. Before they capture me and the white-coated men ask me to show off my powers again. They attach me to a machine and talk among themselves about things that I don't understand. But I always run away, I don't know how I manage it, but one day I'm in that place and the next, I wake up in this room, always. But they always find me.

This Pristine Room, is in an otherwise neglected abandoned house. I hear it's voice too, the screaming of decay. I scream to the same tune, my life is a broken record, but I'm decaying inside. I'll leave this room, walk into the outside world, they'll get me, take me away and diminish my memories. After running away, and being recaptured, my only memory of the outside, is this room. It may as well be the whole outside world.

But, this time I'll make it, they'll never return me to that cage.

They tell me I'm an angel, and must be Tested. I don't know if I'm an angel, I don't remember much of my life before I was put in that cage. They tell me angels are magical, mythical, beautiful beings. They say my wings will grow soon, but they can't let that happen, because I'll fly away. I don't know if they were being metaphorical. I hate this, this life, were everyone lies too me, or doesn't tell me anything straightforward!

Ora is a singer. She sings songs of love and sorrow, feelings I never felt. I will find her. My name is Suu, and I decided, that I am an angel.

**AN: That's it so far! Reviews and ideas are welcome. Next chapter will be called: Glass Cages.**


	2. Chapter 2 Glass Cages

**Chapter 2 – Glass Cages**

**AN: Chapter 2 of my 1****st**** Fanfic! I guess my chapters will be released every few days. Pay close attention, as I'm stuffing these early chapters full with symbolism and foreshadowing.**

Finally, I'm outside. I can touch the world behind that window. Street. They taught me about the outside. Why did they tell me all these things, if they only recapture me? The houses are old stone buildings, about half of them abandoned. The street is empty. No people, but I still hear their voices:

"…_the new shop in town…" _

"…_your birthday is this Sunday, right? What do you…"_

"…_**For you I will be reborn**__…"_

Ora's song. I can always hear it. The endless, undying melody.

It's cold. I have too little clothing on. Clouds. The pure untainted white clouds turn to grey. It'll rain soon. Clouds could be a metaphor for the outside world. The Captain who taught me most of what I know about this world, said that even the most pure beautiful thing can be corrupted. Rain is the clouds crying. I feel their depression. I feel the emotions of everything. And that's just one of my 'powers'. I hear every word spoken, and every feeling felt, out here. I used to wish everything would just die, so I didn't have hear everything. Since then I've learned to block the noise out. But still, feelings that aren't my own invade the deepest, most private corners of my mind. I sometimes don't know who I am anymore.

I'm walking down this street, I'm about a hundred meters away from the Pristine Room now. Two of my emotions conflict. Blind hope for the future, whatever the future may be, and the fear that they'll capture me again. My cage, I may have left it, but my cage still surrounds me in my mind. A Glass Cage, I can pretend the cage doesn't exist, I can see through it, to the outside world, but I'm still very much trapped.

*****  
Two people sat in the large art-deco style room. A tall black-haired man in a military uniform and glasses, and an elderly lady, her uniform covered in medals. The black-haired man spoke first.

"There's no reason for me to work for the government's Special Ops. And besides, I hate these kind of jobs. "

"When you were court-martialed, do you remember, how many times we pulled strings for you?"

"I never asked for your favours."

"We could reopen the investigation"

"Are you threatening me, General Ko?"

"Kazuhiko Fay Ryu, please do this job. All you have to do is make sure that Miss Suu doesn't get into any trouble. All you have to do is protect a teenage girl." Said General Ko, as she pushed her grey hair out of her eyes.

" Don't call me by my full name. And from what I heard, 'Miss' Suu is a highly dangerous 'Clover', that could take down a whole army in minutes." Said Kazuhiko.

"All you have to do is befriend and protect her. Look, the reason I chose you is that your girlfriend Miss Ora, is the particular interest of this, as you say, quite capable army-destroying lab escapee."

"Fine, I'll do this job. But I don't want to go alone, can I have another agent to work with?"

"Captain Fey, she was Miss Suu's closest 'friend'."

"Wouldn't Fey's arrival in the 'outside world' just cause Suu to be suspicious?"

"Don't worry, we have this all planed out, we told Miss Suu that Captain Fey was retiring." Reassured General Ko.

"Who's 'we'."

"The City Council."

"A mission from that high up, eh? Look's I'll actually have fun on this job!" said Kazuhiko with a smirk on his face.

**AN: That's the 2****nd**** chapter done! Next chapter: Chapter 3 – Wires. **


	3. Chapter 3 Wires

**Chapter 3 – Wires**

**AN: My OC Captain Lillette Fey comes in here! I'm going to need quite a few OCs because Clover doesn't have all that many characters. I really hope my readers aren't tired of Suu's philosophical monologues, because I really like writing these kind of things.**

Kazuhiko left the meeting room and walked down the corridor. The corridor was also in the art-deco style. Kazuhiko liked the upper floors better because they looked as if some one had put a lot of effort into the design, unlike the underground floors, whose design was plain. Fey was waiting for him around the corner.

"Come with me, I need talk to you." She said in a bitter tone.

"Nice to see you too, Fey." He replied sarcastically.

Captain Lillette Fey grabbed his arm forcefully and dragged him into a boiler room. Fey had short black hair and icy-cold blue eyes. Her military uniform suited her shapely form well.

After checking that no one was near by, Fey closed the boiler room door.

"I was told I had to work with you, to protect Suu, but not capture her. They told me this was a top secret mission-" she said, at last.

"Yeah, that's old news, what of it?" he interrupted.

"Where the hell is Commander Gingetsu, then? I mean he's your partner and he's a clover, and the City Council's man, he should be on this mission-" she said.

"Suu chose you, you're a friend of Suu's. She'd trust you, but not a random guy who works for her captors."

"Would you stop interrupting me? And for your information, Suu did not 'choose' me, I was foolish, I thought becoming friends with the strange girl would benefit the Tests."

"That's a lie and you know it, you value Suu. Did you get your mission briefing?""Yeah, I guess we can't communicate with HQ once we leave, Suu would hear it within a 5 mile radius. She's a Four Leaf Clover, and if HauptIntel are correct, an 'angel'."

* * *

I'm far away from the Pristine Room now. I've passed rows and rows of houses. All the same style of house. But the weather and people change the houses. They become effected, and therefore different. Houses could be a metaphor for their owners, people. Is that why I was locked away? So I wouldn't change. Wouldn't get ideas. Wouldn't be effected. I was cut off, in my bubble.

My bare feet hurt. And it's raining. The smog from the factories in this area turn the rain grey. The rain, in turn stains my white t-shirt. I've passed dozens of people. Hurrying past, sheltering under umbrellas. They stare at me, but then quickly turn away. It's strange. The Captain said people censor out strange things that they don't what to be involved with. The grey rain is bouncing off the roofs and umbrellas. Objects are reflecting the tears of nature. But living creatures shelter. In a way I'm like the rain. I can make a mark on an object, yet people shake me off.

"Miss, are you cold?" said an old woman, from the open window of her house.

"I suppose." I replied.

"Then come in, you'll catch your death out here."

I went into the old woman's house. The front room was neat. Well looked after. The rain is subsiding.

"Here," said the old woman, carrying a blanket "I'll make you a hot chocolate, you look like you need it."

"Thank you." I said.

I sat down in her living room next to the radiator. Her house is next to a telephone pylon and an EtherBeacon. I hear the information travelling done the wires, the endless hum of information. It hurts. I, sitting curled up in a blanket, gazing into infinity. It hurts. –_So*$Ar%eFoodPic8ture&Sen(d-_ IT HURTS_!–Go*^?ILik632e\Vid}[eo+-_ Why does it hurt so much? _-Sun%d*ay61For/um=My-_ Why do I have this horrible 'power'? -_bhhbhavxbhs8bhbx£tbjsxjjsqjkiemm^78NHJBCDhvfg-_ MAKE IT STOP! –_hggsjhgHFHJHhV4&$4^77BCGHFV£$34$%3%^%%Et5fhf5rhgFuHiou*&5E56fGiuHkjgDrtFy^56e4FyT4rUhOIY*^&^R^&Gtuyd^tFG%E56gUYF6f^tGuYyt%67gy6t7GuyT67R&6&*rF&t_

**AN: That's it for chapter 3. ' The Ether' is my cyberpunk AU's version of the Internet. An EtherBeacon is a satellite dish for beaming out radio signals. I just really like the word 'ether'. Tune in next time for what will happen to Suu after having been overloaded with information, Gingetsu's whereabouts, and Ran's introduction to the story! Chapter 4 – Function: Insect. **


	4. Chapter 4 Function: Insect

Chapter 4 – Function: Insect

**AN: Just an update on what I'm doing with Clover's plot and romantic subplots. Unlike the Clover manga, my AU is in chronological order (for now), so Ran Or C, B, and A are still in their cage, etc. In my story, Clovers are people who are made psychic by government experiments (think River Tam from Firefly only with technology based powers), Suu is the only 'angel' who is also a clover, the other clovers and other angels will be introduced soon. About the romantic relationships, I'm including all the canon ones (Ora/Kazuhiko, Kazuhiko/Bols one-sided, Ran/Gingetsu, Kazuhiko/Suu and Ran/A one-sided) plus all the subtext. I'm going to do an in-depth character study of the relationship between A and Ran. A few OCs will be introduced this chapter too. I'm naming the country 'Lieta', because it sounds cool and because I don't think it was given a name in the original manga.**

A girl with short black hair, wearing only a blue cotton hospital gown ran along the road in the rain. She was in the industrial zone, it's grey factories were just greyer in the rain. Her bare feet were covered in mud and almost raw. She'd twisted her ankle and was panting. The girl tripped over a rock and fell to the ground. She'd never run so far in her life. Her hospital gown was soaked in dirty, cold rain. She lay down for a moment to recover, only to hear the sound of running footsteps. The girl got up and started to run, but her strength was failing her, she only got so far before the men caught up with her. All of the men in their identical uniforms, apart from one. A tall blond man, wearing a uniform adorned with medals, wearing a visor, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. Commander Gingetsu, the girl's worst possible fate. 10, no 20 normal solders she could beat to a pulp at once, but not Gingetsu. Two men grabbed the girl, she struggled, she could beat them, but with Gingetsu around, she might as well just give herself up.

"Ai Lavender Lauley" spoke Gingetsu, in a cold calm but bitter voice, he was trying to hide his hate for what he was doing, he was reading from a leaflet that was labelled as being top secret. "One-Leaf Clover, powers: exceptional speed and strength, weaknesses: no better stamina or reflexes than the normal person. I'm afraid you're going to have to come back with me to Leopard Labs."

Ai didn't try to resist. She'd been 'gifted' with a power too dangerous to be let out, like a dangerous animal; she had to stay in a cage. She mused that maybe that's how Leopard Labs got it's name. Gingetsu himself was a clover, a Two-Leaf, but he rarely used his powers, he was already amazing skilled in fighting, and planning. He'd joined the military at a young age, Gingetsu was close friends with Commander Kazuhiko. While Kazuhiko was the type to get in trouble a lot, he was also smart and well experienced, Gingetsu was Kazuhiko's opposite, Gingetsu was the calm, collected, by-the-books type, yet he'd do a lot of rash if a situation involved some one he cares about, despite having more than enough experience knowing that being rash doesn't end well. Gingetsu was chosen by the City Council to work almost exclusively for the recapture of 'stray' clovers, who were too powerful to be let out, as they may endanger the 'ignorant public'.

The men took Ai into their van and Gingetsu got in. They would be driving back to the Lab. Gingetsu didn't find war or the City Council's 'little experiments' to be wrong. Their country had been at war with other countries so many times. New life-taking machines were being built every day. War became a business, taking lives became profit, in the City Council's eyes. Gingetsu had been made into a clover at a very young age, he had grown up in the military. His powers were useful to the Council, so he was allowed a large amount of freedom. The name 'the City Council' was no longer really accurate. They don't just run the capital city of Klei, but the whole country of Lieta. Lieta had been at war with Azaiea for many years, during that time the City Council developed 'clovers', in the government-funded Leopard Laboratory. They are humans with technological enhancements, these enhancements grant the clovers technological and psychic powers. The clovers are ranked from One Leaf (the lowest level) to Four Leaf (the highest). Most clovers are too powerful to be let out, with the exception of the few that are let out, most clovers live in 'cages', most of which within the complex of Leopard Labs.

_Powerful clovers must be kept in isolation from ordinary humans, _thought Gingetsu, _but Lillette Fey disregarded this rule, and spent a lot of time with the Four Leaf clover and possible angel, Suu. Oddly the City Council didn't take action, they let it be. What on earth are they planning? Why did they not recapture Suu yet? And before this, why did they order the recapture and memory wiping of Suu, whenever she got out? What is the Council doing?_

* * *

Cage 00014. The cage that inhibited by 3 three-leaf clovers, named A, B and C. The room was dark, furniture less, small, and stuffy. Three identical boys, all wearing white pyjamas, their shoulder length black hair tied back in ponytails, sat on the floor. The humming of machinery was the only sound in the room. Constant humming, the endless song of the not living machines. Yet the boys, who sat there, bored, could feel the information in the machines' circuits. The infinite passage of information, yet the machines didn't have a thought to call their own. The boys were also Created Beings. They hadn't been born, and they won't die naturally. They'll age, but once they become adults, they'll stay the same, forever.

Yet unlike the machines the boys are thinking, living creatures, with memories and emotions. But they didn't feel human, their bodies contained wires and circuits, their minds had chips, and their names were more fitting to machines than to humans. But one of the boys had gained the ability to love.

The noise is quieter now. Where am I? It feels like… like… I'm inside the EtherNet. I can't hear, smell or see anything. I feel like I'm floating. All the information is passing by, like water currents. All these thoughts that aren't my own float around. It's like swimming in the dark. All this passing contact, I don't know were I end and someone else starts. I'm just a part, a cog in a machine. The rush of information in my head is dying down, as I adapt to it. I become part of the system. With all this mass of information, I feel tiny. I'm just an insect. Something tiny, insignificant and fragile.

Far in the distance I feel something like another mind, connected to the Ether. It feels me too. For a moment we are the same being. I can hear it's thoughts. It hears mine. Here in the Ether we are all connected. I think the other person is also a clover. The rush of information is dying down. I've found a way to repress it. The next feeling I have is horrible. My mind was ripped out of the Ether. I am being pulled out of the abyss that I had been joined on to. I feel horribly sick as I'm rushed through the information. IT"S COMING AGAIN! IT ahjsgJ966 HURTS!&*^&FIUG&^rf**I&T786er*&IUT876Ed^uytr&^er&*tgF^&%t87gf&*^r*&tg*&r&^T&*6gt&*(*^(8Y7T*&^*tF&*rf*&t*7tGg*&rFRUYGIUYf^&*t*^r*&tDCIH8(TG6ER&^YUUtgOIu kjk o9y3iin 0t l0 sk o

I awake again. There's blood on my hands.

**AN: This chapter's a bit longer; all my others were short, because the Clover manga chapters are really short. I inverted Ran/C's aging, because I wanted to mess around with the more philosophical and generally more interesting idea of immortality, but when Ran breaks out he'll have very little time to live, so I wanted to use the canon too. Ran will have to make a choice between living forever in captivity, or dying young in freedom. **


	5. Chapter 5 Sunshine

Chapter 5 - Sunshine

**AN: A few more OCs in this chapter (Clover is low on characters and I need OCs because this AU is VERY different from the Clover manga, I just wanted to mess around with the Clover characters!). Just a warning, rampant foreshadowing in this chapter. The 1****st**** conversation in this chapter came to me late at night (yes I have conversations with myself), I proceeded to dream of a labyrinth, I wonder how that happened.**** For a bit of fun, try to spot references to other works of fiction and stuff in future chapters! Just a note, I'm not trying to preach anti-war or science-is-bad or stuff like that in my fanfic. I'm really trying to keep it neutral. I'm just using mad scientists and horrific warfare as plot devices. I hate stories that preach. **

"…The Last Man, is a person who is an atheist, but became so due to ignorance and laziness. He only wants his own happiness, but isn't prepared to work for it. He becomes dependent on society, yet lacks ideals. But the Last Man's disbelief in God simply steams from a lack of faith. But instead of worshiping a God, the Last Man may replace religion with the worship of science or rational belief." Said a young lady, an albino, with short white hair wearing a blue hospital gown.

"I'm a scientist. I like proof, but I still have belief in God. I'm somewhere in the middle, a paradox. Yet one can believe in the unproved, so it works. The ideas of the Last Man and the Ubermensch both show that humanity, who works as a collective, have a need to be as a group, always. Humans are social animals after all." Said a tall dark-skinned woman with long curly dyed red hair. She was wearing a lab coat with the Leopard Labs logo on it (a leopard's head surrounded by a laurel wreath), and a white shirt with a short black skirt. Violating uniform regulations seemed to be her hobby.

The two women sat in one of the lower floor's offices. The taller woman was filing papers. The two of them were close friends, their hobby was philosophy, much to the irritation of their co-workers, who often didn't have a clue about what they were talking about. The taller woman with the red hair was called Sofia Kirsche, one of the team researching the angels. She was gifted with beauty and intelligence, but without the ability to sympathise with other humans. Her ruthless, spoiled and uncaring personality made other people avoid her totally, but her beauty caused others to adore her. She had only been able to join Leopard Labs because her mother, the head of an old noble family, sponsored the labs. Her companion, the only person Sofia had ever cared for, was also said to be an angel. She went by the name 'Pandora'. She was under the study and care of Sofia. Sofia was also responsible for Pandora's education.

Pandora spoke again, "Horrible things, like human sacrifice, have been carried out in the name of religion, and miracles have been preformed by religion. But equally horrible things have been done for science, and by doing these things scientists have made miracles."

"Indeed, man is stepping on God's toes. I suppose a person from the past may consider the City Council to be some kind of cult, if not gods themselves." Answered Sofia.

Kazuhiko walked in, he was looking for Gingetsu.

"…Would you consider the City Council to be Ubermenschen? Oh hello, Kazuhiko." Said Pandora.

"What are you two talking about now? Have you seen Gingetsu around? I want to know if he's been informed of the mission regarding Suu."

"Ah, Suu. She escaped again, I've heard nothing of her whereabouts. The City Council would have caught her in a matter of hours. They don't like her being in the outside world. Ever since Suu joined us, the Council have been acting odd. About Gingetsu, he isn't in his office, and that's all I know. Those idiots higher up are keeping secrets." Said Sofia, even though Kazuhiko was talking to Pandora.

"Sofia lent me _Also Sprach Zarathustra_." Said Pandora, sighing at Sofia habit of trying to answer everyone's questions. "I always miss Suu, even when they bring her back. Her memories of the outside are mostly wiped, and who knows how much of her other memories and her personality are altered."

"That explains your strange conversation today. I don't even know why so many people trust the Council, they might as well wear badges saying 'corrupt'. My mission starts tomorrow, goodbye Dr Kirsche, Pandora. If you see Gingetsu, ask him if he knows what's happening."

Kazuhiko left. He went to his office to pack up and then go home. Once he was out of the room, Sofia began to speak again:

"So why does HE trust the Council. Kazuhiko is smart, he can tell when somebody is acting off, but he still blindly follows the Council."

"It's true, the Council are stereotypical villains. Come on, the 'City Council' that name is practically a cliché. But to be honest, it all seems too prefect. As if they're setting us up." Said Pandora.

"Exactly! But it depends on if they are really helping us under the façade of being corrupt. Or if they are pretending the façade, and actually have malicious intents."

"It's funny how we're analysing this, but plan to take no action. If you think about it, the public may be doing the same thing, and the Council may have already won whatever game they are playing."

* * *

There's blood all over my top. Are nosebleeds meant to be this bad? The old lady is here now, she heard me scream.

"Come on Suu, you better get changed."

"Excuse me, but how do you know my name?"

"You come her every time. I let you in. You get a nosebleed. I let you borrow clothes. You leave. And in a few weeks, you return to the streets. But you're never the same person, not truly. You look the same, always. But you never remember the other times you came here. You don't even remember my name- Yuuko Tsukimori. You've been here about 60 times. I age, and you don't. I don't even know what you are, but I've always cared for you! Like a daughter!" she said, almost breathlessly.

How strange. To have some one know you well, but you only know them as a stranger. Ms Tsukimori fixed her hair and took a deep breath, choking back tears.

"Come upstairs, please."

Her bedroom is neat, and in an old-fashioned style. She gets a plastic bag out of the cupboard.

"I'll leave you to change." She said.

"Thank you, thank you so much. I'm sorry I couldn't remember you." I answered.

"You're welcome. I'll you again in a few weeks."

But I, this I, won't. I either won't come back here, I'll keep moving forward. Or they'll get me and I won't remember any of this.

My new outfit. Black lace-edged t-shirt, with matching short-shorts. Thigh high black leather boots. Mini top hat, also black and lace-edged, but with a large fake rose on it. I like the colour red. Blood is red, it reminds me that I'm alive. I sometimes don't think I'm real. It sometimes feels like I'm breathing, thinking and dreaming, but I'm really dead inside. My corpse walks and talks. Like a marionette. Speaking taught phrases. Walking the way my master wants me to. Obeying every order, but pretending to be free. Is this freedom or just the path of fate?

I'm done changing clothes. Could that, a physical change, be a metaphor for a change of the mind? My body never changes, not even outside the cage. By changing clothes I can change my outer, public personality. But my isolated inner personality remains cold and dead. Just the way they wanted it to be.

I walk done the stairs. And exit though the door. Ms Tsukimori waves goodbye. So do I. The rain has ended. The sun is shining. It warms my outer smile, my zombie corpse. The sun shines of the houses. Cold, dull, grey, uniform places are warmed. In a way, I'm not like the houses at all. So I pretend, I hide behind blind hope. But still I fear the unknown, both the unknown outside world, and my own unknown heart.

"…_**Whisk the past away**_

_**On fluttering clouds**_

_**Let the future ride on the wind**_

Ora's song. A familiar yet unknown melody. I can hear it both in my familiar cage, and in the unknown outside world.

It's the only continuity and proof of my wavering, ever-changing, yet boring and unchanging life that I have. The melody of myself, is sung by another.

**AN: Sorry about the long chapter. This is my favourite chapter so far. I wrote this while listening to The Birthday Massacre's song 'Play Dead'. I love that song so much. Next chapter will be called 'Music Box'.**


	6. Chapter 6 Music Box

Chapter 6 – Music Box

**AN: If any of you noticed, yes there is germen in this fic. I just wanted to use it to make some things sound cool! I also like messing with clichés, a lot of confusing/dark anime series add random germen (like **_**Neon Genesis Evangelion**_** or **_**Madoka Magica**_**).**

It was a cool evening. In a small club on Amber street the stage was light by the gentle glow of yellow light bulbs. Red velvet curtains complimented the glow. A sea of tables and chairs filled parts of the room that wasn't filled by the stage. On the tables, candles flickered. A few people were dotted here and there, their faces illuminated by the candlelight. Kazuhiko sat at one of the tables. On the stage stood a woman. She had long curly black hair and was wearing a glamorous black dress. The singer Ora was singing tonight.

"…_**Fearlessly, unceasingly, patiently**_

_**For myself I will be reborn**_

_**In your arms I will reborn**_

_**Once again I await my birth in a golden egg**_

_**Once again to fly with silver wings**_

_**Deliberately, tenaciously, dependently…"**_

"Your singing was beautiful like always, Ora." Said Kazuhiko after the show. They sat down on the sofa backstage, behind the velvet wall that hid the lovers from the harsh outside world. Kazuhiko began to kiss Ora, their very essences melting together.

"Do you know the story _Alice in Wonderland_?" said Ora, pulling out of their kiss

"Of course. But it's one of those stories that always seems to be referenced or quoted, a shame really, writers should make slightly more original references." Answered Kazuhiko.

"I like the idea of Alice, a girl who is whisked away into the strange unknown, but then it all turns out to be dream. It's almost the same with _The Wizard of Oz_. It makes you wonder which one is the dream: your mundane life, or the crazy fantastic world. Zhuangzi's butterfly is the same idea. Am I dreaming of the butterfly? Or the butterfly dreaming of me?"

"You're starting to sound like Kirsche and Pandora."

"Am I? Does it make a person human to question the nature of the world we live in?"

Kazuhiko sighed, he hated talking like Pandora or Sofia, "But what about Nietzsche's Ubermensch, or the 'angels' who have surpassed humanity, but still question?" said Kazuhiko, holding Ora in a tight embrace. But in his head he added, _but what about the clovers, who's flesh is more machine than meat._

"I suppose my theory is flawed! But am I really human too? I think of myself as human. But I'm only a One-Leaf, I have almost no powers and only a tiny amount of machinery in me. The City Council sure doesn't think I'm so, from how they handled me before they let me go. I know the human rights have been outdated and rarely used for decades now, but treating other humans like caged animals just isn't right, so it could be possible that the Council treats us as animals so not to feel guilty."

"Don't worry, even if no one thinks of you as human, I will." Said Kazushiko, wondering if his facial expressions were that easy to read, or if Ora was good at telling what's on his mind.

"I'm truly lucky to have a man like you. On another subject, Pandora is an interesting name. She chose it herself, am I correct?"

"Yes, when we found her in those caves, she had no name. Well no pronounceable name."

"But to choose 'Pandora'. The first human woman of Greek myth, who opened a box of despairs for all humanity to suffer from, but Pandora also gave us hope. A girl like her probably didn't just choose that name because it sounded pretty."

Ora kissed Kazuhiko, and then spoke again. "What do you think of utopia, the perfect world?"

"A world without suffering can't exist. To know suffering is to know life."

"How cynical of you! Well you are a soldier, you have been to hell and back I suppose. I wouldn't know, I'm a singer. A singer who sings about the most human, most simple yet most complex subject, love. Paradise is love. I'll always have hope that paradise is just around the corner."

"But love is also suffering. To surrender yourself totally to someone else is difficult, as is getting someone to love you. I mean it took me 3 months to woe a beautiful mortal goddess like yourself!"

"You flatter me, Kazuhiko! But I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Ora."

"Promise me that we'll find paradise, even if it runs red with blood."

"I promise."

"Promise me one more thing, don't die before I do. Even if you have a mission to do tomorrow, please don't die. To not die is the greatest gift you can give someone you love."

"Well I'm not going to die." He kissed her, "Not before you." He held her close, smiling, "I'm strong."

"Of course you are."

* * *

The City Council was holding a meeting in a large dimly lit room. Five seats were in a circle. Around them ten more. Around those twenty more. 5 wizards, they led the Council, their leader was Wizard Shu. 10 senate members. And 20 officials, Gingetsu was one of them. The meeting was coming to a close. Gingetsu got up from his seat and walked out in to the corridor, then waited for the lift. Next to him stood a girl, she was in her teenage years. She had very pale skin, unnaturally perfect and pale, she had fluffy blond hair with a pink hair band. She was wearing a quite eccentric outfit. Gingetsu wondered what on earth she was doing in this high security government building. The elevator came, and opening with a 'ping' sound. They both went inside.

"I love that sound, the 'ping' that the elevator makes." Said the girl. Gingetsu wondered if he should ignore her or talk to her, he hated these awkward situations. But before he could decide, the girl spoke again. "The wizards are puppets."

"What? What do you mean?" said a puzzled Gingetsu.

"What I mean is, the wizards are just figureheads. The REAL City Council are the old noble and royal families, the CEOs of the large industries, and the bosses of the secret police. All of that meeting, and all before are just part of a plan to divert attention."

"Where did you get this information?"

"I know you've been looking for the truth a while now, even if you pretend you aren't. The City Council you've been serving are puppets. My masters are the real deal."

"What, the real City Council?"

"No, much higher up. It would be a good idea if you would uncover the truth."

"Why don't you do that yourself? You might as well be omniscient, I know the City Council knows everything about this country. I can't even imagine what you know, why would you need my help?"

The lift stopped at the girl's stop, the lobby. Just as the doors opened, the girl said in a fast whisper, "My name is Dorothy, you can't even begin to understand my motives. I can give you limited help. I'll find you, as it's impossible to track me, so don't even try to find me. Start by researching Lady Oktavia Augusta Kirsche. Cover your tracks. Keep all of this a secret."

"Wait!" Gingetsu yelled, but Dorothy had disappeared into the crowd. Then Gingetsu remembered, Lady Kirsche was the head of an old noble family. She had her fingers in everything, she was even a government official and a major patron and sponsor of Leopard Labs. But also the mother of Sofia Kirsche.

**AN: DUN DUN DUUUUNNN! Cliff-hanger (kind of)! I was ill & very depressed as I wrote this so it's kinda short. And another subplot is here! All of my subplots will link together in a horrible headache inducing way soon, I hope. I'm aiming to make this just as confusing as CLAMP's Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, which took me 6 months to understand to plot of. I think Ageha Ohkawa (the head writer of CLAMP) laughs cruelly at her readers and giggles at her own genius. So I'll try to do the same, after all this is a fanfic of a CLAMP work. **


	7. Chapter 7 Cogs

Chapter 7 – Cogs

**AN: I was on holiday, so that's why this chapter is late. This is very long chapter, as I had plenty of time on the plane to think about it. Think of the Mosaic Corporation as something similar to a futuristic East India Trading Company, or like Goliath from the Thursday Next books. If you thought Suu was massively out of character in this chapter it's because that's how I intended it to be. It'll be a plot point later, so remember it.**

The sun is setting. It's quite a cloudy day, but in the cracks between the clouds, the sunset shines. From daylight, to yellow light, to orange, to red, to pink, to purple, to indigo, and finally to black night, shining with millions of stars, and the moon. The moon is like a pearl glistening in a dark sea. It's all so wonderful.

I've never seen anything like this. Or maybe I have, in a past incarnation. My cage was a greenhouse cage, it had a beautiful glass dome, with a rainforest inside, and a chessboard floor. I could see the sunset, but never like this, outside, free. In a way I miss my cage. It was my home, I loved it. Oh all those games I played there. I used to climb every tree in my cage, and sang a song when I got to the top, pretending that I was a bird. My cage was like a good friend. But every month they took me out of there, forced me to wear the blue hospital gown, and not my own clothes that I wore in my cage. They'd then take me into these dark, suffocating small Test chambers, but somehow I'd escape, always. But in my cage I stay put. It's quite odd.

It's night now. I'm walking in the slum part of the town now. It's filled with narrow alleyways. The only light comes from the rotting wooden houses, the sparse gas streetlights, or the red, white and yellow neon signs advertising bars and 'services'. Most of the houses have thatch roofs and walls made of salvaged wood. It's massively different from the grey stone houses or Leopard Labs' art-deco style. The alley's cobblestones are hard to walk on when you're in platform shoes. That makes me wonder: how did Yuuko Tsukimori get my clothes back every time? Maybe an agent would give them back. That's not a good thing, they'd know where I went every time.

Maybe I've been here before. It's difficult to come to terms with the fact that my memories of my cage, the labs and the Pristine Room are always the same, _at least I think so, anyway_, but my memories of the outside world are and may soon be gone. What if my past self's personality changed or had a life-changing experience? I'm like a tree, with forgotten branches.

I hear footsteps. Someone's following me. Should I run? They're closing in! I better run! No, they've caught up with me! They're two big thugs, it's hopeless!

"Stop now, you little brat, before you get hurt." Said one of the men in a horribly confident way. I have to keep going, but they're still right behind me! I'm so scared, fear is choking my words of protest. They've got me, they've pinned me down to the ground, they're searching my pockets.

"She's got no cash, the little bitch," said the other man, pressing me to the ground. I can smell his foul breath. Disgusting.

"Let's have a little _fun_ with the brat, then," he said, as he holds a knife to my neck.

What the do I now? I'm so foolish. I thought no one could harm me out here. I wish those men would die. JUST DIE! And leave me alone! Please just make them die! The tears are pouring down my face as they turn me round and press me down. I try to scream, to struggle, but one of the men is pining me down, his nails digging into the side of my wrist. WHY WON'T THEY JUST DIE!

Then I felt something. It was like a burning rage from the deepest most uncharted parts of my heart. My very essence was filled with some kind of unimaginable power. My mind was so calm, yet filled with all these mighty emotions. Anger. Hatred. Fear. Despair. All of which I turned into strength. Just for a second I felt totally in control. Out of my arm shot an elegant weapon. The pain filled my body, but I overcame it. The weapon was a golden razor blade on a pole, the pole still attached to my body. Dozens of tiny cogs, wires and machinery were attached to the weapon. A precise, yet deadly tool.

Somehow I've got out of their grasp. It was like a sudden push, a sudden burst of strength. It was so very easy to take their lives, too. So easy, in fact, that it scared me. I wanted them to die, but I didn't want to kill them. I don't even know how I managed it. I seem to have a great power within me, but it's one I can't control yet. That power didn't even feel like my own. The blade has slide back into my arm, it's intense pain paralyzing me for a moment.

And again I move on. My hopes are slightly crushed, and the night is icy cold. Where am I going? I've wanted to run away and not captured for so long, purely to find Ora. I now that I've got away, I don't have a clue where she is. Maybe my past 'branches' found the answer. Have I killed before? How sad, I don't even know how many lives and futures I stole.

I must find Ora. How far would I go? To the ends of the Earth. Ora is the person I most admire. She turns mere words into dazzling beauty, just by singing. My own songs pale in comparison. Ora, where are you?

* * *

Gingetsu was pacing around his living room trying to recall what else he knew about Lady Kirsche. Then it hit him, Lady Kirsche was also part of the Mosaic Corporation, an executive, and that was how she became part of the government.

After the collapse of world trade and the huge inflation, one company rose from the rubble: the Mosaic Corporation. No one has any idea how Mosaic, a supermarket and food producing chain managed to rebuild the world's economy. But now they are so much more, Mosaic is the world's biggest company, selling everything from fruit to houses to medicine to oil. You could even buy happiness (via drugs) if you had the cash. It's almost impossible to live without the help of Mosaic, they sell everything you could ever need.

Mosaic owns every from of transport company too, and every vehicle factory. The company even runs whole countries. They own the search engine on the Ether. They are the men who the government turn to if they have a problem. They also started the genetic revolution, thanks to them, cloned organs and limbs, cybernetic implants, cyborg bodies and robots are available. Mosaic also made Suicide Booths legal, as a tactic to get rid of some of the huge population, you can end your life as long as you have some spare change. Mosaic also builds and sells everything you need to fight a war, but they also sell to both sides, Mosaic chooses who wins and who dies. Some companies go by other names, but you can almost always trace their origins back to Mosaic.

Gingetsu wondered if the reason why Mosaic are so successful is because the think on a very large scale, Mosaic plans not just for next year, but for the next thousand years. If man travels into space, you can bet that Mosaic will follow instantly, it's likely that man will be using a Mosaic brand spaceship as well. Mosaic will one day spread to the starlight lit heavens themselves, selling everything you could ever need to the rest of the galaxy.

And Sofia's mother is a part of this terrifying company. If she sponsors the Labs, it means Mosaic sponsors the Labs. Meaning the angels research and the whole Clover Project are in their hands. _How many people know this? _Thought Gingetsu, _It's all so obvious. So then why did Dorothy ask me to find information on Lady Kirsche, is there something else I don't know yet. But if I search the Ether, all information on her will be censored due to Mosaic. But with Mosaic's involvement we've proved that the Labs work is of the highest importance, but why?_

* * *

Kazuhiko was asleep, in his bed, next to Ora, having a dream of paradise. In his dream, he and Ora were flying with angel's wings over a garden of immense beauty. They were smiling at each other, the wind rushing through their hair. But then that calm beauty was broken. Ora flew into a tree. She collapsed and folded into the tree just like a stray kite. Blood flowed from her mangled corpse, staining the tree a deep red. And as the last leaf was coated in Ora's blood, Kazuhiko woke up in a cold sweat.

Kazuhiko was panting, he was terrified. He checked that Ora was alright. She was perfectly content, in a peaceful dream. Kazuhiko went to wash his face. As he poured the water over his face, he recalled a horrible detail: in the dream, Ora had been smiling as she crashed into the tree, as if she wanted to die.

* * *

_This imprisonment is horrible, our own demons are killing us inside, but never thought his love would break us all this way._

In the dark, windowless cage, it was difficult to tell if it was night or day. C was bored out of his mind, B was asleep and A was lying down, looking up at the ceiling. C guessed that it must be night because the machines weren't humming at full power and he couldn't hear many voices. He hadn't slept in ages. The madness of the insomnia was creeping back in. C was trying to choke back the screams. He'd cried himself to sleep so many times, but now he'd used up all his tears.

A sleepless night is when the demons surface. During the day, you know that you're real. But in the night, you aren't so sure. The dim, shadow-filled cage wasn't helping. _Maybe, just maybe all the time I spent in this cage is just a hallucination. All this isolation would just be a bad dream,_ thought C, _but how bad would the real world be if this is a dream used to free the mind. _

A rolled over and smiled at C. "Can't sleep?" He said.

"Yeah."

"Me neither. But now is the perfect time for me to tell you something important!" said A as he grabbed C's hands.

"What?"

"I love you, C. I want you so badly." Said A. C was looking into his eyes, but he was unable to read A's emotions, were his eyes shining with insanity or kindness, there was no way to tell.

**AN: I really hope this chapter wasn't too expo-speaky. Please review, it makes me feel less like a waste of space if you do!**


	8. Chapter 8 Cloud Samsara and Photographs

Chapter 7 – Cloud Samsara and Photographs

**AU: Just a warning, pay attention to the subtext. If you see me using certain words a lot they are likely to be important (like 'reborn' or 'marionette'). Really subtle foreshadowing and subtext are everywhere. Metaphors are everywhere too (Suu can be the clouds or Ora's song etc). Maybe these things will be important, maybe not. Damn, I'm not nearly a good enough troll (unlike Beato or Bernkastel). Oh jeez, this chapter is so late… **

The sky is lilac. The morning is cloudy. It's too early to think about _it _again. The terror of a sleepless night. The images of the murder flash in front of my eyes again. So brutal and cruel. I can't have been the person who did this. That sounds like denial. Maybe it is. No, it can't be. It can't be. It can't be. It mustn't be. I don't what to think about it. But I can't escape my own mind. My mind analyses and dissects the very core of my personality. Is that normal? I don't know. I sometimes have to do things I can't explain, like only walk on the white tiles in my cage on certain days, or these horrible things fill my mind. They're doing that now. I'll change the subject.

I'm in the financial district. The streetlights are red-orange, like tiny suns. Please let the real sun rise. Make this bloodthirsty imagery disappear. _The blood was oddly beautiful_. No it isn't, it shouldn't be, it mustn't be, it can't be. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Night. Filled with shadows that are our own demons.

Again I feel the need to escape. Escaping from my physical cage wasn't enough, I need to run away from everything. I've been living in cages all this time. I want my freedom. I'd sacrifice everything for my freedom, even my feeble life. Even outside my physical cage, I only have the illusion of freedom. I want to go somewhere far away, to find a true freedom. But I can't go there alone. Maybe Ora will take me there, but that's just a lie I tell myself, she won't understand. No one does. I've passed all these people who are content with their rotting lives spent in dark cages, even the Captain.

* * *

Four o'clock. Gingetsu sat at his computer, it's screen illuminating his face, highlighting his tiredness. He was searching the Ether for information on Mosaic and Lady Kirshe. Anything, really.

The Ether had been a major part of life a hundred years ago, but the Northern Alliance's cyber-terrorism, the experimental brain-uploading and World War Four had left the Ether almost desolated. The Ether had been repaired, but with Mosaic's help. Due to Mosaic, the Ether grew greater. The Ether became a whole empty cyberspace world.

But the Ether had been turned into a mere tool for Mosaic, a shell of it's former self. It had once been a hub of opinion and information, now it was mainly a propaganda tool. The Ether had been full of life, shaped by everyone on it, but now it had become an empty, hollow lie.

But the Ether had an underground world, the homeland of hackers, conspiracy theorists, anarchists and technology fans. Gingetsu was messaging some of them now. He had a lot of contacts, hacking had been one of his hobbies, he was very good at it, being a clover and all. Gingetsu was a by-the-books soldier, the dog of the military, but he had strong morals. He felt that now he'd have to do illegal and frowned-upon things for the sake of justice. He felt the thrill of the danger, the rush of emotions that he got from this small rebellion against his vague foes, but his face showed none of it. Acting calm and rational had aided him in coping with what the world really was, a living nightmare.

The only truths that you could find were on the darkest parts of the Ether. You'd be punished if you went there. You'd be punished for seeking the truth. The past had seemed glorious, with it's cyberspace, global network, and with all that un-censored information at your fingertips. But with the aftermath of the war, with many countries conquered and the map of the world almost totally different, and so many countries wanting nothing to do with each other. Lieta had been severed from the rest of the world, as had every other country. The once world wide EtherNet had been divided. The only thing that was still world wide about the Ether was Mosaic, who ran the Ether. The most public began to blindly follow Mosaic, after they started to control the Ether. A whole world with a logo on it. A whole world repeating senseless corporate lies until they became truths. Gingetsu had considered everyone else to be stupid, gullible lemmings, but he was just as stupid. Maybe he was scared to fight it.

Finally, he got a message from someone:

_Trust no one. Don't say too much. Please don't die. It hurts, you see, both for me and for you. _

_Lady Kirshe is the salvation, bringing unity. All the other countries are worse off than Lieta. _

_He shall rise and mankind shall fall, unless mankind stands tall. Lady Kirshe is growing us all._

Gingetsu moaned. The vague, cryptic nature of the message was annoying, but it was something to go on. The sender was Anonymous again, so the message might be untrustworthy. Gingetsu decided to call it a night and get some rest.

* * *

How do you define adulthood? By the body or by the mind? Does wisdom define adulthood? Or is it the age of the body? My body will never age past that of a teenager. Teenager, the threshold between childhood and adulthood. So will I never grow up? Or is adulthood the result of a loss of childlike innocence? I have the feeling that when my wings grow, I'll know the answer.

Even clouds grow up. They start out as water vapour and air, their basic materials. They then become pure white clouds, but they slowly turn to grey. Then as their tears fall, they die. The water is then reborn as clouds again.

I spent the night walking. It's around seven in the morning now. I'll have to rest at some point. Am I a masochist? I'm on a tiring journey, looking for a person I can't find, for no other reason than that I like her songs. Ha! When I say it like that, it all sounds so very simple. Maybe it is. The desire to meet Ora has kept me going all this time, but it's been hurting me too.

Am I walking fate's path, or defying fate? I don't know. Was it my fate to stay in the cage, which is something I've been trying to escape? Or is my fate to escape, which is something I'm doing? These different interpretations of fate also tell different interpretations of myself. Is the subconscious me a fatalist or a rebel? For it isn't the conscious, currently monologuing me that is the one that let me escape, for I have no memory of getting out, it may have been the subconscious me.

Following my fate would grant me happiness, defying it would grant me glory. But I don't know which one I want.

My identity itself is a mystery. My memories start ten years ago, the day I was brought into the Labs. Always my memories fail me. Memories make you the person you are, so therefore my identity has holes in it. The Captain says any memories are evidence to prove that you're real. But I have memories of my dreams as well. I don't think dreams are real, as in physically there.

It's just like me to doubt everything that is considered evidence that I have free will. Emotions are just chemical reactions, they can be altered by drugs. Memories are just faulty data, they can be altered too. In this world, it's difficult to tell what's real and what's fake. And then there's the terrifying idea of fate. People could just be marionettes, controlled by some unseen puppet-master.

I'm in a park. Behind me walking, is a girl. She's unhappy, but deep down she knows it's her own fault. She was talking over the EtherSpeak to a friend only a short while ago. She was saying that her boyfriend left her because she was making 'what he considered unreasonable demands'. But I can tell that she loved him, yet made his life a living hell, because she wanted pity and that rush of emotion. Maybe she's a huge narcissist, or maybe she's an emotion-starved self-hater. It was likely a subconscious act. It's frightening who we are underneath.

* * *

Kazuhiko's office was untidy and filled with paperwork. A photo of Ora was on his desk, and on his filling cabinet was a dead potted plant. Kazuhiko was slouching in his swivel-chair, reading the information on Suu he'd forgotten to read last night, he always reads mission briefings first. It was an hour before the mission would start now. Kazuhiko was calm, the horrors of the night were repressed and almost forgotten. Doing this was a necessary measure, because the horrors that surface at night plague man's waking hours. He had much training in repressing horrible memories, the Indonesian-Lieta war had been a waking nightmare, but he'd pulled through. He opened the file on Suu.

The first page had a small photo of Suu on it. She had short white hair, pale skin and large green-gold naïve looking eyes. Kazuhiko thought that she was quite a cute girl. After the photo was information on Suu, most of it was censored by being blocked out. Her date of birth, age, family and many other things were apparently classified information. What it did say was that Suu was brought into the Labs ten years ago, they suspected that she was an angel, but the **CENSORED** Organisation wanted her to become part of the Clover Project. The booklet also listed Suu's health and mental health problems: which were all very helpfully **CENSORED**.

The rest of the booklet were just photographs. The first photo was a picture of Suu dated ten years ago (the caption said so), she was sitting on the floor of what looked like a hospital ward. Suu was covered in bandages. One of her legs was in a cast, the other was covered in bandages up to her hip. Oddly, Suu wasn't wearing a hospital gown, but a long baggy white t-shirt. Her left eye also had bandages over it and one of her arms was in sling. Suu's expression looked almost traumatized. Her appearance looked the same as it did in the profile photo on the first page, but the profile photo was taken just a month ago.

Kazuhiko turned to the next page. The next photo was very strange. It was grainy and out-of-focus. But as Kazuhiko leaned closer he could see the figure of Suu from the side, strange nearly transparent bird-like wings were sprouting from her back. Kazuhiko blinked twice, he was intrigued by the photo, but equally disturbed. Suu was standing in greenhouse-like building, but there were no plants and some of the glass was pink-stained glass. Suu was in a white dress and was carrying a bunch of flowers. The caption was **CENSORED**, again.

The next two photos were one of Suu in her cage and one of Suu and Lillette hugging. _Fey, you idiot! _Thought Kazuhiko, _You care for Suu so much. So stop acting like you couldn't care less. _Lillette's expression in the photo was one of great happiness, not at all like her usual dutiful nature.

The last photo was one of a drawing. Most of the caption was **CENSORED**. All that it showed was that the drawing was made sometime in this millennium. The drawing was of a giant figure, drawn in all the shades of the rainbow. The figure was genderless, and seemed just to be an idea of what a person might look like. It was wearing a robe that seemed to be made of stars and galaxies and it was holding the sun. The figure was standing on a mountain, with mild disgust Kazuhiko noted that the mountain was made of _the bodies of people._ The sky behind the figure was black and empty. All the stars were missing.

At the figure's feet stood three winged women in white hooded robes. _Angels, _thought Kazuhiko, he was oddly terrified, _does that mean that the giant is a god or goddess or something? _To the left of the figure was a winged young man with long white hair in black armour. He was sitting on a demonic-looking horse. To the right of the figure was another armoured rider. This time it was a winged girl with short white hair. Kazuhiko looked closer at her face, upon realising that it was Suu, he let out a gasp of shock. But Suu's expression wasn't childish innocence, her expression was almost unreadable. It seemed to be the expression of someone who'd seem it all, omniscient and cynical. Her expression also carried traces of the expressions of those who chose to end their lives using the Suicide Booths, an expression of suicidal joy.

After a while of staring at the picture, Kazuhiko wondered why he was given it. _Something like this, _thought Kazuhiko, _could be incredibly important. It's in the hands of the government, they even censored the caption, that means something's up. What am I meant to do? This picture could be dangerous in my hands, I could sell it to the newspapers. No I can't the government controls the press. I properly can't expose this at all, I'm an underling, I can be erased. So that means I have to keep this a secret, or I'll die. I hate subtle blackmail. But I'll try to work out the mystery of this picture. Damn! The City Council, they gave me this, so they'll know how I think. They must have planned that I'll try to find information on this picture. So I've become part of their little game. Well, bring it on!_

* * *

It was morning. A had slept next to C all night. C was and had been terrified. A had lost it completely now. C looked at B for reassurance, but B was just as scared.

"Why won't you look at me! Why is _he _more important? Look at me!" screamed A. His face was twisted into an expression of psychopathic despair. "What do I need to do to make you look at me alone?"

"I'm looking at you." Said C as he shook with fear, he attempted a reassuring smile, "Please don't be angry".

"LIAR!" screamed A, "You love _him_, you don't need him, all you need is me. I love you! I love you! See, I'll get rid of this useless doll for you!" A tackled B and grabbed his neck.

"No! Please A, let him go!" said C, as his tears ran down his face again, choking the rest of the words he wanted to say. A sat on top of B, he tightened his hands around B neck, and pressed hard. B gasped for breath, but A just pressed harder. He gleefully smiled as he strangled B.

B had stopped fighting, his life had been erased. C felt sick, his once kind natured brother had just killed their brother almost without any hesitation. All those innocent years spent together, all those precious memories, they had been soiled with blood.

C couldn't say that A had just gone mad over-night, he'd been showing signs of insanity all this time. The dark imprisonment had clouded his mind and later it broke his mind too. A had been absentminded and paranoid for quite some time, and these things just kept getting worse. And now, all that pent up despair and hate had turned into incestuous love.

"B isn't here anymore." said A in a childish tone as he embraced C, "And you'll always be here with me."

* * *

The last meeting before the mission had ended. Lillette was suddenly very quiet and deep in thought as they walked down the corridor. Kazuhiko wanted to say something to lift the sombre mood, but his words failed him. She started walking faster and overtook him, she was trying to hid her expression.

When Kazuhiko caught up with her, she was waiting for the lift. They got into the lift together, they stood opposite each other. Lillette pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors closed with a 'ping' sound. The lift started to hum and travel downwards. Lillette stood silently, her arms were crossed and she was staring into a corner.

Kazuhiko started to tap his fingers against the metal. A frown of annoyance flashed across Lillette's face, but she said nothing. Kazuhiko cracked his knuckles, which was something Lillette hated. He was testing how moody she was.

"Stop it, it's annoying." Muttered Lillette, as she turned her gaze to the elevator door.

"Sorry." Said Kazuhiko. He had the feeling that she was mad at him. The elevator slipped into another awkward silence.

On floor 32 the doors opened with another 'ping'. Two female secretaries walked in. Kazuhiko and Lillette shuffled closer together to give the women room. Lillette avoided eye contact with all of them. After things were sufficiently awkward, the secretaries began to continue what seemed to be an earlier conversation in hushed voices.

"Remember, we have to sort though the records on Sunday." Said one of the women.

"Do we really get to use the 'akasha' device?" Said the other, more excited woman.

"We have special clearance."

The lift stopped on the 26th floor. The woman got out. Kazuhiko decided to ask Lillette what was on her mind.

"I'm fine, geez." she said.

"That wasn't my question. Are you angry at me or something?"

"No. It's not that. It doesn't matter."

"Fine. Have it your way."

"Gosh, I didn't mean it like that!" said Lillette, "It's just some things happened. It's not your fault." Lillette smiled briefly and then stared off again. On closer inspection Kazuhiko noted that her eyes were red, like she'd cried or hadn't slept in ages. Her voice sounded creaky and worn out too.

They finally arrived at the ground floor. Kazuhiko wondered why this high-tech, state-of-the-art building had such old-fashioned and slow lifts. They walked across the large marble-clad lobby, past the bored looking receptionists and through the glass doors. This part of the building always reminded Kazuhiko of a fancy hotel. A black number-plate-less expensive car with blacked-out windows was waiting for them.

**AN: I really hope you aren't bored of philosophical monologues. As you know, Suu's parts are in a present tense monologues, when she meets up with the others her POV will change to a first-person past tense narrative. **


	9. Chapter 9 Dancing Dolls

Chapter 9 – Dancing Dolls

**AN: Sorry if the chapter is kind of rubbish, I believe that I'm experiencing writers block. And also my sanity is on holiday. God, I hope I don't turn into Hideki Anno. In my mind Dorothy looks like Shiori from **_**Mahou Sensei Negima**_**, for some reason.**

Sofia held her pens in her mouth and her clipboard under her arm as she tried to pry her lunch (sandwiches) off Keiko, who was a scientist also working on the mystery of the angels. They sat on the roof, eating lunch. Keiko was very hungry and had tried to steal Sofia's food.

"Hey, that's mine!" Said Sofia.

"You said you were going on a diet. Also, I'm gonna be monitoring an experiment all night. I need food more than you do."

"Then ask if you can have my food." Sofia turned away and stared at some clouds in the distance. Keiko wolfed one of Sofia's sandwiches and fixed her wind-blown long black hair and pushed up her glasses. She wiped some crumbs off her mouth, and then she spoke again.

"How's Miss Pandora?"

"Fine, I suppose. Just a bit distant, that's all. She spaces out a lot and says things that I don't understand. I always keep wondering where she came from, and why she's here. Her distant nature makes it difficult to monitor her emotional health and teach her."

"You really do work too much." Said Keiko as she looked at Sofia's clipboard.

"I don't work enough."

They went quiet as Keiko ate the other sandwich and Sofia noted some things down on spare paper in her clipboard. Sofia was recording her memories among the observed scientific data, because to her they were the same. Keiko obviously wanted to look again at what Sofia was writing, but was trying not to. Sofia was becoming annoyed. She hated Keiko's natural playful attitude, in Sofia's eyes people who didn't work to gain happiness didn't deserve it.

Keiko had wanted to eat lunch with her, out of pity. Sofia only had Pandora, she had no other friends. She always seemed lonely. She only ever talked about work with everyone but Pandora, and always ate lunch alone. Keiko thought Sofia was shy and was trying to hide her loneliness behind work. So for the last two weeks Keiko had eaten with Sofia, but just couldn't understand her. She was too complex, shy yet brash and bold, laid back but also with the tendency to overwork herself.

"My husband is organising a dinner party, do you want to come?" asked Keiko.

"I have things to do."

"You should really loosen up, Dr Kirshe." said Keiko bitterly. Sofia gave her an irritated look.

"There's no point. I want something, and I'm going to get it. My happiness is irrelevant."

"Oh come on! You can have a little fun every now and then! Why are you so stuck-up all the time?"

Sofia stared into Keiko's eyes and then coldly said, "I grew up." Sofia then picked up her handbag and left a slightly stunned Keiko behind.

Sofia had been something the great Dr Keiko Tatsumiya couldn't understand. She was an equation that Keiko just couldn't solve. The beautiful Sofia, who could have easily been a high-earning model or porn star, had chosen to be an antisocial scientist. Today, she was in short leather skirt and a white blouse with red lipstick. She was so glamorous, but was dressing up just to be alone.

Many of Keiko's friends were insanely jealous of Sofia. Her beauty and talents could have won her many friends and lovers, but the only one in her bed is her. Keiko herself wondered if she was only talking to Sofia because of her beauty. To be honest, Keiko had been surprised that Sofia could even do any maths, let alone be one of the best scientists in the Labs.

* * *

They'd switched the luxurious government car for the common train. Kazuhiko stared out the widow, he found the view of the sea that they were crossing by bridge to be quite beautiful. Lillette was writing franticly on a notepad, as if she had a time limit to convey her thoughts. Kazuhiko was very bored, so he decided to speak to Lillette again, as they hadn't spoken properly since they were in the elevator.

"What are you writing?" he asked. Lillette gave a 'tut' of annoyance, but then packed away her notepad and chose to answer his question,

"A book." She said.

"What's it about?"

"Humans." She said, without an expression to hint at what she meant with that statement.

"Just humans?"

"I consider myself as a Collector of Lives. This book will be filled with the tales of ordinary humans that I have observed. Every life is a story."

"In a way that's very deep, deeper than I thought you could be. You hold more secrets than I thought you had."

"You thought I was shallow didn't you. Didn't you. Didn't you!" said Lillette bitterly, and with shades of anger.

"Geez, calm down. I was joking." Said Kazuhiko. He was mildly shocked at Lillette's reaction. Usually she was quite sarcastic and stoic, but sometimes she fell into a bind rage, and a blind rage was usually not a good sign. He'd known her for years. Gingetsu had introduced them. Lillette was the former girlfriend of the bartender of the bar that Gingetsu frequently visited. The bar had great cocktails; he thought that he should take Ora there sometime.

After a long silence, Lillette ate some biscuits with her mouth open. Kazuhiko hated that, but he assumed that it was vengeance for him annoying her earlier. After scoffing the whole packet she went to go find the on-board restaurant something to drink. Kazuhiko felt that he missed Ora already. Her warm embrace, her tender lips, her brilliant smile; he was going to feel so empty without them. He loved a good challenge though. This mission had been ordered by the Council, and not just HauptIntel (The intelligence department whom which Kazuhiko and sometimes Gingetsu worked for). This meant that this mission was of high importance. But such an important mission just for the safety of a little girl, it made little sense.

Kazuhiko didn't believe in angels or gods. To him the Council was like a group of goat-sacrificing cultists. _Those photos were just fakes, _he told himself, but deep down there was a part of him that was a believer, hidden under his jaded exterior. He thought that maybe, somewhere, hidden from view, that there was something out there. Something mysterious and supernatural. But he denied these thoughts, he forced himself to believe that everything had a rational explanation, but this state of mind just forced him to try and seek out and explain these things. He was naturally inquisitive, but his curiosity, and then his disappointment just caused his cynicism and scepticism to increase. _After all, _he thought_, analysing and giving reasons for strange phenomena just removes the childlike magic. I don't know if that's a good thing or not._

But just then, the arrival of a strange figure interrupted his monologue. She was young girl in an extremely old-fashioned maid dress with midnight-black hair in a bun and large glasses. Her dazed expression only added to her absurdity. She took Lillette's seat. Kazuhiko was too stunned to make any noise of protest other a few grunts.

The oddly dressed girl spoke, "We've met before, haven't we?" Her voice was a monotone, like she was bored with everything.

"No I don't think we have." Said a puzzled Kazuhiko, "Also you're sitting in someone else's seat."

"I'm sitting in no one's seat. The Sunday series is coming. The blood-red writing, it's trying to tell you and seven something. Yes, something. Don't ask me, I failed." Said the girl. Kazuhiko was perplexed, she was obviously insane, but seemed to be holder of an otherworldly knowledge. But she terrified him with her dead, uncaring eyes that looked just like a doll's. She seemed inhuman, almost, but she had a wisp of familiarity about her that terrified Kazuhiko. Inhuman, yet human-shaped.

"Seriously, get out of this seat. Please. Let's try and find your actual seat." He said, trying to get her to move.

"We all fall down. Everything dies, the whole of creation plunges into the nothing. Just like a story, so long ago. What did you expect? Break it all. Perfection is blood. Fourteen. And when the stars go out, the maiden will govern the circle. Souls are so very cold. The countless pieces of that being. It's raining cyanide. She's from another place. Heed the warning, act not. Dance, for it'll be your last. The artist, his name is Hideki Kiryuu. A picture of madness, it'll eat everything else."

"Miss, please leave, I'm not trying to be rude, but just leave."

"The colours are fading."

And with that confusing statement the girl left. She went off, half-skipping, half-stumbling. Kazuhiko didn't understand what had just happened, but he figured that her words might have some importance. The conversation had been so strange; maybe she was trying to tell him something. _Something. A vague word. How fitting, for such a vague girl and her vague words_, he thought, _Hideki Kiryuu, maybe, just maybe, that's who I'm looking for, the creator of that drawing, that could be him._

Lillette returned. Kazuhiko chose not to tell her about the girl. Silence consumed them for the rest of the train journey. The frantic scratching of Lillette's pen, the voices of others and the vague seemingly purposeless humming of machines became deafening.

Lillette and Kazuhiko got out of the train and into a vast station with high arches. The station was old-fashioned, it's arches reminded Kazuhiko of Suu's greenhouse cage. Cold air rushed through the station, it blew Lillette's black trench coat around. Kazuhiko was still in military garb, complete with an equally wind blown overcoat. They both carried out their suitcases, and Lillette put on her fingerless gloves. Kazuhiko thought that they both looked so cool with their coats blowing in the wind, but he berated himself for thinking that, it was immature.

"So do you have the tracker?" asked Lillette.

"Yes." Said Kazuhiko, taking out a small silver device with a large screen, the device was there to find Suu's whereabouts. They were in the financial district, where Suu also was.

"Ok, so where is she?"

"In front of 3 Meadow Street. Let's go."

* * *

Pandora and Sofia were sitting in Pandora's cage. The cage was grey, with its walls made of dull concrete. The two women were sitting on white plastic chairs around a worn wooden table that showed its years. The only lighting in the room was a bare bulb hanging above the table. Pandora's cage was almost bare, the only signs of it having been lived in were the messy bed and the random scribbling's on the walls.

Sofia was knitting. She didn't know what she was knitting. She liked to think that it'd have a form halfway through. She'd think of what it was that she was making halfway through. Though, defining halfway when you don't know what you're making add how large it should be was difficult. So she went on knitting a formless embryo of something, trying to find a halfway point.

Pandora was doing math questions. She was also modelling Sofia's last knitting project, a lumpy jumper made from many colours of wool. She was wearing it over her hospital gown. Pandora started humming a strange tuneless song, it was just humming, with no real beat or tune. Empty humming. Pandora started tapping her pencil, to Sofia the tapping was meaningless and random, but to Pandora it was a complex piece of music. Usually things like this annoyed Sofia, but it was her beloved Pandora, so she didn't care.

"What are you singing?" said Sofia, smiling in a strangely motherly way.

"A song a person I once loved sang. A distant memory." Said Pandora. She tipped her head to the side and relived those beautiful memories, to the brilliant music of that person. Music that she couldn't even begin to describe the beauty of.

"I didn't know angels could love." Said Sofia happily, but she was not hoping that she might get some information out of her.

"I don't think I'm an angel. The Council said I'm an angel, but I doubt it."

"You dodged the question. Can you love?" said Sofia bitterly. She'd had enough of Pandora's habit of dodging questions and changing subjects. Pandora always knew when Sofia wanted information out of her, so she probably did these things intentionally.

"Of course I can. Anyone can love anyone. Love isn't a bad thing at all."

"You really think so?" said Sofia. Sofia had noted that Pandora often helped her out with her problems, but in a cryptic manner. Pandora always seemed to know when Sofia was in need of help. Maybe that's why Pandora had brought the complex subject of love up.

"No. Those are just lies that I tell myself. That person, that beautiful, untouchable person, was ripped to pieces as I tried to reach them," whispered Pandora. Her speech was distant and giggly, like a daydreaming child, but her face was devoid of emotion.

To Sofia this was brutally cruel. Pandora had cut down and shattered Sofia's hopes, without the slightest trace of emotion.

Sofia bit her lip and tried to calm down. Was Pandora testing her, or messing with her for laughs? Sofia was forced to remember those bullies during her school. They didn't hate her, she was just different, she stood out. She was pretty, rich and smart. But they couldn't care less about that. Sofia had been sweet and kind, but that had made her even more satisfying to break.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" yelled Sofia, hitting her fist on the table. It was too late, Sofia couldn't stop now, she'd have to fight back. She didn't care that Pandora was one of her most precious people; at this point in time she was a hostile person.

Pandora looked up from her textbook. But she was not in shock; she just registered what was going on. After examining Sofia's face and constructing a plan on how to handle the situation, Pandora spoke, "I'm not playing any sort of game. I just let you in on a secret of mine. I let you have the information you're looking for. If you don't understand, here I'll make it straightforward: I can love, but right now I choose not to, because I have had bad experiences with love. There, are you happy?"

"Fine, thanks," said Sofia. She was annoyed; Pandora had total control over the situation.

* * *

A touched C's face in a possessive manner, he had removed his rival, he had won the battle. Love is a powerful thing, it shapes the lives of many people, it can rapidly change the lives of many, for better or for worse. C forced himself not to cry. He was going to be strong, no matter what happens. He had unwillingly become the lover and emotional crutch of A. He hated himself for not doing anything to stop A. He blamed himself for B's death, he hated himself for being weak and submitting to A.

A found warmth in C's arms. They sat as close as possible. A just couldn't let C go. He believed that if he did, C would just vanish, C would defy him and love something else. He couldn't let that happen. He'd found eternity in C's arms. Eternity built on the blood of their brother.

* * *

Gingetsu had got a message from Dorothy. He was to meet her in the small hall on the fifth floor. The hall had a large stage and all the equipment needed to perform a play. Yet, it was never used for plays. The room was left dark and quiet.

Dorothy sat in the middle of the stage. There were twelve figures hidden in the darkness behind her. Gingetsu sat on a chair placed right in front of the stage. As soon as he sat down, Dorothy began to speak, "So, what have you found out?"

"Lady Kirshe is mother of one of my co-workers and part of the Mosaic Corp," said Gingetsu.

"Well that's a start. All you've done is find obvious stuff out. You'd make a rubbish detective."

"I still find it hard to believe I'm reporting stuff I found out to a little girl who named herself after a book character."

"You should watch your mouth. I prefer to play nice, but I could easily have everyone you know killed. Also, my ID says I'm eighteen years old."

"It's fake, isn't it?"

"Obviously."

"I'd like to ask you a few questions, Miss Dorothy," said Gingetsu.

"Go ahead. But I can't answer everything. I enjoy my privacy."

"Why did you ask me to find out information?"

Dorothy gave him a look of annoyance, she was used to people obeying her every order without asking questions. She sighed, and then answered, "I want something. You want the truth. It's only fair that I help you."

"Are you implying that you are manipulating me?" said Gingetsu indifferently.

"Well done. Now are now an amateur sleuth who can't solve any crimes, and his only cases are finding small lost objects."

Gingetsu said nothing. She was trying to provoke him. To him Dorothy was a fool; he was beginning to dislike her. He decided to ask his next question in a more sarcastic way, "So, what does my all-powerful great master want me to do next?"

Dorothy smirked, in response to that sarcastic remark she decided that she was going to make him mad with paranoia. In an utterly serious voice she said, "Please check everyone you know are actually real."

"You're just pulling my leg, aren't you?"

Dorothy rolled her eyes. She hated people who didn't believe her. Maybe the reason they doubted her was because she mixed serious statements with jokes, in an attempt to sound like a normal person and not a bearer of all the country's secrets. "I'm not," she said, "Ai Lavender Lauley, the girl you recaptured yesterday, she wasn't real."

Gingetsu was too stunned to answer, so Dorothy just kept going, "She's an artificial intelligence implanted in the Ether. Using a certain machine, a certain group of people are able to make others have a delusion that they are seeing her. That certain group are fairly creative and gave her a whole backstory and everything. It was their biggest project. The AI was even given the personality of one of their staff, Lavender Lauley." Dorothy had said all of that in a monotone, it had scared Gingetsu a bit how she just said all that secret information without even sounding like she cared.

Gingetsu pulled himself together. He was military man, he shouldn't care either. It was a security breach and it had to be fixed. But still, he felt cheated and betrayed. "This is an awful security breach," he said, "does anyone else now about this?"

"No, just that group, you, me, and my people. No one else is meant to know either."

"How are we meant to stop this breach?"

"Not 'we', my people would like to use the breach for their own, honest, perfectly legal, interests."

"Meaning I'm on my own because your people are planning something nasty. Should I be frightened?"

"No. You're under my wing, they wouldn't harm you. Just make sure that no one else you know is a fake. It'd screw up my plans if there are more fakes I don't know about."

"Should I find information on this Lavender Lauley?"

"You can try."

Gingetsu was pretty sure that by that Dorothy meant he'd have no luck and just cause himself trouble. "What about the AI," he said, "what will happen to it?"

"She's being deleted right now. Since we found out that she wasn't real, as in physically their, her presence faded. It's easy to delete her now. We'll wipe the memories of everyone who knew, apart from you, of course."

Gingetsu was curious to what 'faded' meant, but he then felt he'd rather not know. He asked his next question, "Dorothy, who are the people standing behind you?"

Twelve girls in very old-fashioned maid dresses came forward at Dorothy's command. Each girl had different styled and coloured hair, but their dead eyes and pale porcelain bodies were all alike. They moved elegantly, but you could her the humming of the machinery inside. To Gingetsu, it was chillingly unnatural. "These girls are robots, created to be my servants and subordinates. I call them 'the Dolls'. I named the twelve of them after the western months of the year. The Dolls will aid you as well."

"Why did you name them 'the Dolls'?" asked Gingetsu.

"They are fakes. Pretend people. They dance if their master makes them dance. But in a way they are very much like people. People are merely dolls dancing to the tune of fate."

**AN: The Dolls are a fairly obvious reference to **_**Coyote Ragtime Show**_**, with their month-themed names (I just love that idea). I also based them on Dorothy from **_**The Big O**_**, who was the inspiration for my Dorothy's name (the fact that my Dorothy looks like Shiori to me came later). The Dolls are also inspired by the old Japanese wind-up clockwork dolls (those clockwork dolls were kinda the ancestors of robots). I just love clockwork and Clock/Steam Punk things! There is a fourth inspiration for the Dolls, but it's a major spoiler.**

**When I 1****st**** came up with the character of Ai, I wasn't planning to make her an AI. In fact I only noticed the Ai=AI pun while writing this very chapter. I am the queen of unintentional puns. Her first name was meant to be a reference to the main character of **_**Hell Girl**_**, and her last name was meant to be an **_**Eva**_** reference. In my mind Lauley is similar to Langley. And now you know.**

**This chapter is SOOOOOOOO late. **


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